POLICE are sending the body of former Patong mayor Pian Keesin to Surat Thani for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.


PHUKET: Former mayor of Patong, Pian Keesin, has died in a fall at his home in Phuket City, Phuketwan learned today.

The death of the man acknowledged to be the key powerbroker on the island's west coast for almost two decades shocked Phuket residents today.

Khun Pian, in his 70s, died in a fall at Rock Garden Village, in the Samkong district of Phuket City.

Police responded to a 191 call about 11am and found Khun Pian dead. His body was being transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital.

One of the largest funerals Phuket has seen is likely to follow.

The legendary local politician lost a re-run election earlier this year and soon after became the central figure in raids by police aimed at exposing the ''taxi mafia'' on Phuket.

Major General Paween Pongsirin, head of the taxi task force investigation, said today that he felt very sorry for Khun Pian's family. ''If I have a chance, I will offer my condolences in person,'' he said.

Khun Pian told Phuketwan in an interview after police raided his Patong mansion in September that he may seem rich but he was actually in debt to the Islamic Bank.

''We are Patong people and I have extensive land holdings,'' he said. ''With property around Patong valued so highly, I am able to negotiate loans.I am not corrupt.''

Pian Keesin established power in Patong by walking out to meet the people and by building a strong network of friends and business associates who appreciated his way of running the popular tourist hub.

Rules did not always seem to be applied and Khun Pian was accused of breaking some of them. The family's Patong Bay Garden Resort, for example, extended onto Patong beach much further than other premises, until recently.

Touts pulled over on a motorcycle told a YouTube poster that they worked with no fear of arrest because they had the blessing of the mayor.

With the price of land reaching astonishing heights, even essential water canals disappeared under buildings. Patong's drains became blocked and overflowed every time there was heavy rain.

Budgets were spent on promoting the holiday hub in unusual ways.

A large PATONG CITY sign went up on Patong Hill at a cost of nine million baht and a second PATONG BEACH sign at the coast cost more than seven million baht.

In conversation, Khun Pian was a charming man whose legacy will become clearer over the next few days.

Son Prab Keesin, a leading Patong businessman, posted on his Facebook page today: ''Rest in Peace, My Dad, the one who gave me a chance in life.''

There is no doubt that of all the people who have had an influence on how Patong developed and met the challenge of international tourism, Pian Keesin's name rides above them all.

As he once told Phuketwan when it appeared there would be no end to his electoral domination: ''The sky belongs to the birds but Patong belongs to Pian Keesin.''

Not any more.

Prab Keesin, 38, and his younger brother Peun remain charged along with scores of Patong and Kata-Karon taxi drivers and staff from the Pisona family business.